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Air Force Specialty Code
The Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC) is an alphanumeric code used by the United States Air Force to identify an Air Force Specialty (AFS). Officer AFSCs consist of four characters and enlisted AFSCs consist of five characters. A letter prefix or suffix may be used with an AFSC when more specific identification of position requirements and individual qualifications is necessary. The AFSC is similar to the Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) used by the United States Army and the United States Marine Corps or enlisted ratings and USN officer designators and USCG officer specialities used by the United States Navy and the United States Coast Guard. History After the Air Force separated from the Army in 1947, it retained the Army's system of MOS occupation codes, modifying them in 1954. These were 5-digit codes; for example a maintenance data systems specialist was 39150 and a weather technician was 25170. In October 1993, the Air Force implemented a new system of AFSCs, aligning occupations with the forcewide restructuring that was implemented under Merrill McPeak.Air Force Officer Specialty Structure: Reviewing the Fundamentals, 2009. Rand Corporation, ISBN 978-0-8330-4619-2. These reduced officer AFSCs from 216 to 123 and enlisted AFSCs from 203 to 176. Enlisted AFSCs The enlisted AFSC consists of five alphanumeric characters: * Career group (Numerical) *# Operations *# Logistics *# Support *# Medical *# Professional *# Acquisition *# Special Investigations *# Special Duty Identifiers, typically used for Airmen chosen for specialized jobs *# Reporting Identifiers, typically used for Airmen in transitive status: trainees, awaiting retraining, prisoner, etc. * Career field (Alpha, different for each) * Career field subdivision (Numerical, different for each) * Skill level ** 1 – Helper (recruits or retrainees in technical school) ** 3 – Apprentice (technical school graduates applying and expanding their job skills) ** 5 – Journeyman (experienced Airmen functioning as front-line technicians and initial trainers) ** 7 – Craftsman (Airmen with many years of experience in the specialty, responsible for supervision and training) ** 9 – Superintendent (Airmen in the grade of Senior Master Sergeant and above, with at least 14 years of experience, responsible for broad supervision) ** 0 – Chief Enlisted Manager (CEM) (Airmen in the grade of Chief Master Sergeant responsible for policy and direction on a broad scale, from the individual squadron to HQ USAF levels) * Specific AFSC (Numeric, specialty within career field subdivision) For example, in the AFSC 1N371: * The career group is 1 (Operations) * The career field is N (Intelligence) * The career field subdivision is 3 (Cryptologic Linguist) * The skill level is 7 (Craftsman) * The specific AFSC is 1 (Crypto-Linguist Specializing in a Germanic Language) For some specialties, an alpha prefix is used to denote a special ability, skill, qualification or system designator not restricted to a single AFSC (such as "X" for an aircrew position). Additionally, an alpha suffix (a “shredout”) denotes positions associated with particular equipment or functions within a single specialty (an Afrikaans specialist in the Germanic linguist field would have an "E" shredout). Using the above example, the AFSC X1N371E would refer to a Germanic Cryptologic Linguist who is aircrew qualified and specializes in Afrikaans. Here is an extended listing of AFSC groups. Most categories have numerous actual AFSCs in them. Operations * 1A - Aircrew Operations ** 1A0X1 - In-Flight Refueling ** 1A1X1 - Flight Engineer ** 1A2X1 - Aircraft Loadmaster ** 1A3X1 - Airborne Mission Systems ** 1A4X1 - Airborne Battle Management Systems ** 1A6X1 - Flight Attendant ** 1A8X1 - Airborne Cryptologic Language Analyst ** 1A8X2 - Airborne Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Operator ** 1A9X1 - Special Missions Aviation * 1B - Cyberspace Defense ** 1B4X1 - Cyberspace Defense * 1C - Command and Control Systems Operations ** 1C0X2 - Aviation Resource Management ** 1C1X1 - Air Traffic Control]] ** 1C3X1 - Command Post ** 1C4X1 - Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) ** 1C5X1 - Command & Control Battle Management Ops (1C5X1D Weapons Director) ** 1C6X1 - Space Systems Operations ** 1C7X1 - Airfield Management * 1N - Intelligence]] ** 1N2X1 - Signals Intelligence Analysis ** 1N3X1 - Cryptologic Language Analyst ** 1N4X1 - Network Intelligence Analysis * 1P - Aircrew Flight Equipment ** 1P0X1 - Aircrew Flight Equipment * 1S - Safety ** 1S0X1 - 1S - Safety * 1T - Aircrew Protection ** 1T0X1 - Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) ** 1T2X1 - Pararescue * 1U - Unmanned Aerospace System (UAS) Operations ** 1U0X1 - Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) Sensor Operator * 1W - Weather ** 1W0X1 - Weather ** 1W0X2 - Special Operations Weather Maintenance/Logistics * 2A - Aerospace Maintenance ** 2A0X1 - Avionics Test Station and Components ** 2A2X1 - Special Operations Forces/Personnel Recover (SOF/PR) Integrated Communication/Navigation/Mission Systems ** 2A3X2 - Integrated Avionics Systems (Attack/Special) ** 2A3X3 - Tactical Aircraft Maintenance ** 2A3x4 - Aircraft Avionics (A-10, U2, F-15, F-16, and CV22) ** 2A5X1 - Aerospace Maintenance ** 2A5X2 - Helicopter/Tiltrotor Maintenance ** 2A5X4 - Refuel and Bomber Aircraft Maintenance ** 2A6X1 - Aerospace Propulsion ** 2A6X2 - Aerospace Ground Equipment (AGE) ** 2A6X3 - Aircrew Egress Systems ** 2A6X4 - Aircraft Fuel Systems ** 2A6X5 - Aircraft Hydraulic Systems ** 2A6X6 - Aircraft Electrical and Environmental Systems ** 2A7X1 - Aircraft Metals Technology ** 2A7X2 - Nondestructive Inspection (NDI) ** 2A7X3 - Aircraft Structural Maintenance ** 2A7X5 - Low Observable Aircraft Structural Maintenance ** 2A8X1 - Mobility Air Forces Integrated Communication/Navigation/Mission Systems ** 2A9X1 - Bomber/Special Integrated Communication/Navigation/Mission Systems * Fuels ** 2F - Fuels * Logistics Plans ** 2G - Logistics Plans * Missile Maintenance ** 2M0X1 - Missile and Space Systems Electronics Maintenance ** 2M0X2 - Missile and Space Systems Maintenance ** 2M0X3 - Missile and Space Facilities * Precision Measurement ** 2P - Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratory * Maintenance Management ** 2R0X1 - Maintenance Management Analysis ** 2R1X1 - Maintenance Management Production * Materiel Management ** 2S - Materiel Management * Transportation & Vehicle Management ** 2T0X1 - Traffic Management ** 2T1X1 - Vehicle Operations ** 2T2X1 - Air Transportation * Vehicle Management ** 2T3X1 - Vehicle and Vehicular Equipment Maintenance ** 2T3X2 - Special Vehicle Maintenance ** 2T3X3 - Vehicle Maintenance Control And Analysis ** 2T3X4 - General Purpose Vehicle Maintenance ** 2T3X5 - Vehicle Body Maintenance ** 2T3X7 - Vehicle Management and Analysis * Munitions & Weapons ** 2W0X1 - Munitions Systems ** 2W1X1 - Aircraft Armament Systems ** 2W2X1 - Nuclear Weapons Support * 3D - Cyberspace Support (activated on 1 November 2009, merging 2EXXX, 3AXXX, and 3CXXX)New cyberspace support career field stood up Nov. 1, 11/5/2009, Air Force News Service ** 3D0X1 - Knowledge Operations Management ** 3D0X2 - Cyber Systems Operations ** 3D0X3 - Cyber Surety (IA and COMSEC) ** 3D0X4 - Computer Systems Programming ** 3D1X1 - Client Systems ** 3D1X2 - Cyber Transport Systems ** 3D1X3 - RF Transmission Systems ** 3D1X4 - Spectrum Operations ** 3D1X5 - Ground Radar Systems ** 3D1X6 - Airfield Systems ** 3D1X7 - Cable and Antenna Systems (Cable Dawgs) * 3E - Civil Engineering ** 3E0X1 - Electrical Systems ** 3E0X2 - Electrical Power Production ** 3E1X1 - Heating, Ventilation, AC, and Refrigeration ** 3E2X1 - Pavements and Construction Equipment ** 3E3X1 - Structural ** 3E4X1 - Water and Fuel Systems Maintenance ** 3E4X3 - Pest Management ** 3E5X1 - Engineering ** 3E6X1 - Operations Management ** 3E7X1 - Fire Protection ** 3E8X1 - Explosive Ordnance Disposal ** 3E9X1 - Emergency Management similar to FEMA in the United States. * Historian ** 3H - Historian * Services ** 3M - Services * Public Affairs ** 3N0X2 - Broadcast Journalist ** 3N0X5 - Photojournalist ** 3N1X1 - Regional Band ** 3N2X1 - Premier Band * Security Forces ** 3P0X1 - Security Forces *** 3P0X1A - Military Working Dog handler *** 3P0X1B - Combat Arms Training and Maintenance * Mission Support ** 3S0X1 - Personnel ** 3S1X1 - Equal Opportunity ** 3S2X1 - Education and Training ** 3S3X1 - Manpower ** 3V031 - Visual Information Medical * Medical ** 4A0X1 - Health Services Management ** 4A1X1 - Medical Material ** 4A2X1 - Biomedical Equipment ** 4B0X1 - Bioenvironmental Engineering ** 4C0X1 - Mental Health Service ** 4D0X1 - Diet Therapy ** 4E0X1 - Public Health ** 4H0X1 - Cardiopulmonary Laboratory ** 4J0X1 - Physical Medicine ** 4J0X1A - Orthotics ** 4M0X1 - Aerospace and Operational Physiology ** 4N0X1 - Aerospace Medical Service ***4N0X1B- Allergy and Immunizations Technician ***4N0X1C- Independent Duty Medical Technician ***4N0X1F- Flight and Operational Medical Technian (New in 2014) ** 4N1X1 - Surgical Service ** 4P0X1 - Pharmacy ** 4R0X1 - Diagnostic Imaging ** 4T0X1 - Medical Laboratory ** 4T0X2 - Histopathology ** 4V0X1 - Ophthalmic * Dental ** 4Y0X1 - Dental Assistant ** 4Y0X1H - Dental Hygienist ** 4Y0X2 - Dental Laboratory Professional * Paralegal ** 5J - Paralegal * Chaplain Assistant ** 5R - Chaplain Assistant Acquisition * Contracting ** 6C - Contracting * Financial ** 6F - Financial Management & Comptroller Special Investigations * 7S - Special Investigations (OSI) Special Duty Identifiers * 8A100 - Career Assistance Advisor * 8A200 - Enlisted Aide * 8B000 - Military Training Instructor * 8B100 - Military Training Leader * 8B200 - Academic Military Training NCO * 8C000 - Airman & Family Readiness Center RNCO * 8D000 - Linguist Debriefer * 8E000 - Research Analysis and Lessons Learned * 8F000 - First Sergeant * 8G000 - Honor Guard * 8H000 - Airman Dorm Leader * 8M000 - Postal service * 8P000 - Defense Courier * 8P100 - Defense Attaché * 8R000 - Enlisted Accessions Recruiter * 8R200 - Second-Tier Recruiter * 8R300 - Third-Tier Recruiter * 8S000 - Missile Facility Manager * 8T000 - Professional Military Education Instructor * 8U000 - Unit Deployment Manager Reporting Identifiers * 9A000 - Awaiting Retraining-Reasons beyond Control * 9A100 - Awaiting Retraining-Reasons within Control * 9A200 - Awaiting Discharge/Separation/Retirement for Reasons Within Their Control * 9A300 - Awaiting Discharge/Separation/Retirement for Reasons Beyond Their Control * 9A400 - Disqualified Airman, Return to Duty Program * 9C000 - CMSgt of the Air Force * 9E000 - Command Chief Master Sergeant * 9F000 - First Term Airmen Center * 9G100 - Group Superintendent * 9J000 - Prisoner * 9L000 - Interpreter/Translator * 9P000 - Patient * 9R000 - Civil Air Patrol (CAP)-USAF Reserve Assistance NCO * 9S100 - Technical Applications Specialist * 9T000 - Basic Enlisted Airman * 9T100 - Officer Trainee * 9T200 - Pre-Cadet Assignee * 9U000 - Enlisted Airman Ineligible for Local Utilization * 9U100 - Unallotted Enlisted Authorization * 9W000 - Potential Wounded Warrior * 9W100 - Reserved for Future Use * 9W200 - Wounded Warrior Don't call him a hero, 3/27/2009, Capital Flyer * 9W300 - Wounded Warrior-Returned to Duty * 9W400 - Wounded Warrior-Limited Assignment Status (LAS) * 9W500 - Wounded Warrior-Retired/Discharged * 9W600 - Reserved for Future Use * 9W700 - Reserved for Future Use * 9W800 - Reserved for Future Use * 9W900 - Reserved for Future Use Officer AFSCs The officer AFSC consists of four alphanumeric characters: * Career Group (Numerical) ** 1 (Operations) ** 2 (Logistics) ** 3 (Support) ** 4 (Medical or Dental) ** 5 (Legal or Chaplain) ** 6 (Acquisition or Finance) ** 7 (Special Investigation) ** 8 (Special Duty Identified) ** 9 (Reporting Identifier) * Utilization Field (Numerical, different for each) * Functional Area (Alpha, different for each) * Qualification Level ** 0 – Qualified commander (when used in conjunction with “C” in the 3rd position) ** 1 – Entry (any AFSC) ** 2 – Intermediate (is only used for pilots, bomber navigators, and missile launch officers) ** 3 – Qualified (any AFSC) ** 4 – Staff (relates only to the level of functional responsibility and is restricted to positions above wing level; it does not denote additional specialty qualifications) For example, in the AFSC 11A4: * The career group is 11 (Pilot) * The functional area is A (Airlift) * The qualification level is 4 (Staff) For example, in the AFSC T63A3 * The career group is 63 (acquisition manager) * The functional are is A (all 63 officers are "A") * The qualification level is 3 (fully qualified) * The prefix "T" designates a formal training instructor (other pre-fixes are available for other specialty positions) As with enlisted AFSCs, prefixes and suffixes may be applied to make the AFSC more specific. Operations * 10C0 - Operations Commander * 11BX - Bomber Pilot * 11EX - Experimental Test Pilot * 11FX - Fighter Pilot * 11GX - Generalist Pilot * 11HX - Helicopter Pilot * 11KX - Trainer Pilot * 11MX - Mobility Pilot * 11RX - Recce/Surv/Elect Warfare Pilot * 11SX - Special Operations Pilot * 11UX - Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) Pilot * 12BX - Bomber Combat Systems Officer * 12EX - Experimental Test Combat Systems Officer * 12FX - Fighter Weapons Systems Officer (WSO) * 12GX - Generalist Combat Systems Officer * 12KX - Trainer Combat Systems Officer * 12MX - Mobility Combat Systems Officer * 12RX - Recce/Surv/Elect Warfare Combat Systems Officer * 12SX - Special Operations Combat Systems Officer * 12UX - Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) * 13AX - Astronaut * 13BX - Air Battle Manager * 13DX - Control and Recovery * 13LX - Air Liaison Officer * 13MX - Airfield Operations * 13NX - Nuclear and Missile Operations * 13SX - Space Operations * 14NX - Intelligence * 15WX - Weather * 16FX - Regional Affairs Strategist * 16GX - Air Force Operations Staff Officer * 16PX - Political-Military Affairs Strategist * 16RX - Planning & Programming * 17C0 - Cyber Operations Commander * 17DX - Cyberspace Operations * 18AX - Attack Remotely Piloted Aircraft Pilot (18X established in October 2009Air Force officials announce remotely piloted aircraft pilot training pipeline, Tech. Sgt. Amaani Lyle, Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs, 6/9/2010) * 18GX - Generalist Remotely Piloted Aircraft Pilot * 18RX - Recce Remotely Piloted Aircraft Pilot Logistics * 20C0 - Logistics Deputy Group Commander * 21AX - Aircraft Maintenance * 21MX - Munitions and Missile Maintenance * 21RX - Logistics Readiness Officer (LRO) Support * 30C0 - Support Commander * 31PX - Security Forces * 32EX - Civil Engineer * 35BX - Band * 35PX - Public Affairs * 38PX - Personnel Medical * 40C0 - Medical Commander * 41AX - Hospital Administration, Health Services Administrator and Medical Service Corps * 42BX - Physical Therapist * 42EX - Optometrist * 42FX - Podiatrist * 42GX - Physician Assistant * 42NX - Audiology/Speech Pathologist * 42PX - Clinical Psychologist * 42SX - Clinical Social Worker * 42TX - Occupational Therapist Biomedical Specialists * 43AX - Aerospace & Operational Physiologist * 43BX - Biomedical Scientist * 43DX - Dietitian * 43EX - Bioenvironmental Engineer * 43HX - Public Health * 43MX - Medical Entomologist * 43PX - Pharmacist * 43TX - Biomedical Laboratory * 44AX - Chief, Hospital/Clinic Services * 44BX - Preventive Medicine * 44DX - Pathologist * 44EX - Emergency Services Physician * 44FX - Family Physician * 44GX - General Practice Physician * 44HX - Nuclear Medicine Physician * 44JX - Clinical Geneticist * 44KX - Pediatrician * 44MX - Internist * 44NX - Neurologist * 44PX - Psychiatrist * 44RX - Diagnostic Radiologist * 44SX - Dermatologist * 44TX - Radiotherapist * 44UX - Occupational Medicine * 44YX - Critical Care Medicine * 44ZX - Allergist * 45AX - Anesthesiologist * 45BX - Orthopedic Surgeon * 45EX - Ophthalmologist * 45GX - OB/GYN * 45NX - Otorhinolaryngologist * 45PX - Physical Medicine Physician * 45SX - Surgeon * 45UX - Urologist * 46AX - Nurse Administrator * 46FX - Flight Nurse * 46GX - Nurse-Midwife * 46MX - Nurse Anesthetist * 46NX - Clinical Nurse * 46PX - Mental Health Nurse * 46SX - Operating Room Nurse * 46YX - Privileged Advanced Practice Nurse * 47BX - Orthodontist * 47DX - Oral and Maxillofacial Pathologist * 47EX - Endodontist * 47GX - Dentist * 47HX - Periodontist * 47KX - Pediatric Dentist * 47PX - Prosthodontist * 47SX - Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon * 48AX - Aerospace Medicine Specialist * 48GX - General Medical Officer (GMO), Flt Surg * 48RX - Residency Trained Flight Surgeon * 48VX - Pilot-Physician Professional * 51JX - Judge Advocate * 52RX - Chaplain Acquisition * 60C0 - Program Director * 61AX - Operations Research Analyst * 61BX - Behavioral Science/Human Factors Scientist * 61CX - Chemist/Biologist * 61DX - Physicist/Nuclear Engineer * 62EX - Developmental Engineer * 62EXA - Aeronautical Engineer * 62EXB - Astronautical Engineer * 62EXC - Computer Systems Engineer * 62EXE - Electrical/Electronic Engineer * 62EXF - Flight Test Engineer * 62EXG - Project Engineer * 62EXH - Mechanical Engineer http://usmilitary.about.com/od/officerjobs/a/62ex_2.htm * 62S0 - Materiel Leader * 63AX - Acquisition Manager * 63G0 - Senior Materiel Leader * 63S0 - Materiel Leader * 64PX - Contracting * 65AX - Auditor * 65FX - Financial Management * 65WX - Cost Analysis Special Investigations * 71SX - Special Investigator Special Duty Identifiers * 80C0 - Commander, Cadet Squadron, USAFA * 81C0 - Training Commander, OTS * 81T0 - Instructor * 82A0 - Academic Program Manager * 83R0 - Recruiting Service * 84H0 - Historian * 85G0 - USAF Honor Guard * 86M0 - Operations Management * 86P0 - Command and Control * 87G0 - Installation Inspector General * 88A0 - Aide-de-Camp Reporting Identifiers * 90G0 - General Officer * 91C0 - Commander * 91W0 - Wing Commander * 92J0 - Nondesignated Lawyer * 92J1 - AFROTC Educational Delay-Law Student * 92J2 - Funded Legal Education Program Law Student * 92J3 - Excess Leave Law Student * 92M0 - Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) Medical Student * 92M1 - Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences Student * 92M2 - HPSP Biomedical Science Student * 92R0 - Chaplain Candidate * 92S0 - Student Officer Authorization * 92T0 - Pilot Trainee * 92T1 - Navigator/Combat Systems Officer Trainee * 92T2 - Air Battle Manager Trainee * 92T3 - Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) Pilot Trainee * 92W0 - Potential Wounded Warrior * 92W1 - Reserved for Future Use * 92W2 - Wounded Warrior * 92W3 - Wounded Warrior-Returned to Duty * 92W4 - Wounded Warrior-Limited Assignment Status * 92W5 - Wounded Warrior-Retired/Discharged * 92W9 - Warrior Care * 93P0 - Patient * 94N0 - Nuclear Weapons Custodian * 95A0 - Non-Extended Active Duty AFRC or ANG USAFA Liaison Officer or CAP Liaison Officer * 96D0 - Officer not available in awarded AFSC for cause * 96U0 - Unclassified Officer * 96V0 - Unallotted * 97E0 - Executive Officer * 99A0 - Unspecified AFSC Additional information During the course of their Air Force careers, Airmen sometimes switch jobs and receive multiple AFSCs to denote training in multiple specialties. A Primary AFSC (PAFSC) is the designation for the specialty in which the individual possesses the highest skill level and is, therefore, the AFSC that he or she is best qualified to perform. The Duty AFSC (DAFSC) reflects the actual manpower position the Airman is assigned to. The Control AFSC (CAFSC) is a management tool to make assignments, assist in determining training requirements, and consider individuals for promotion. Often an enlisted Airman's PAFSC will reflect a higher skill level than his or her CAFSC since the CAFSC skill level is tied to rank while the PAFSC skill level is tied to performance and education. Usually, the PAFSC, DAFSC, and CAFSC will be the same. However, situations such as retraining, special duties, or Air Force-level changes necessitate these distinctions. Additionally, Airmen that have retrained into multiple specialties will have several Secondary AFSCs (2AFSC, 3AFSC, etc.). Special Experience Identifiers (SEIs) are established to identify special experience and training. The Air Force Enlisted Classification Directory (AFECD) contains the complete list of authorized SEIs and includes designation criteria and authorized AFSC combinations. (AFI 36-2101) AFSC/MOS/Rating Conversion See also * Badges of the United States Air Force * List of United States Army careers * List of United States Marine Corps MOS * Military education and training References External links * [http://www.e-publishing.af.mil/shared/media/epubs/afi36-2101.pdf AFI 36-2101, Classifying Military Personnel (Officer and Enlisted)] (PDF) * U.S. Air Force Officer Classification Directory (AFOCD) and U.S. Air Force Enlisted Classification Directory (AFECD) - Only accessible to military personnel United States Air Force careers Category:United States Air Force lists